The Kid Stakes

Fatty Finn (Robin 'Pop' Ordell) is the six-year-old leader of a gang of kids in Woolloomooloo. They enter Fatty's pet goat Hector in the annual goat derby, but his rival Bruiser Murphy (Frank Boyd) lets the goat loose before the race. After a series of adventures, Fatty finds the runaway goat and persuades a friendly aviator to fly him to the race-track in time for the main event. Based on the Fatty Finn comic strip drawn by Syd Nicholls for the Sunday News in Sydney since 1923, the film includes an on screen appearance by Nicholls in the opening scenes, as he sketches a cartoon of Fatty. This is the only feature directed by Tal Ordell, who was a popular character on stage and screen. His son Robin "Pop" played the role of Fatty, and went onto a successful radio career. Robin was killed in World War II while serving in the Australian Air Force. The film is enhanced by witty intertitles and the gentle humour of the story. The performances of the children are fresh and spontaneous. Authentic locations on teh back streets of Woolloomooloo and a Potts Point mansion illustrate hte living standards and social conditions of the time. The goat race was filmed in Rockhampton, Queensland as these races were banned at the time in New South Wales.